by: Jonathan Nelson
Last month Sen. Mark Udall of Colorado proposed new Good Samaritan law for abandoned mine cleanup. S.1777 Good Samaritan Cleanup of Abandoned Hardrock Mines of 2009 was introduced on Tuesday, October 13. Here is a link to the video of his proposed bill to Congress: http://markudall.senate.gov/?p=video&id=281. I was just doing some web surfing trying to find more info on my policy research topic and found myself at his website watching the video. The proposed bill is different than others because it only addresses specific liability issues and doesn’t dismiss other environmental laws. An issue in the past has been that the proposed bills have attempted to change “too much” in the words of environmentalists and stakeholders on the issue. If the bill becomes law Good Samaritans would be able to apply for a permit to cleanup an abandoned mine. During the permitting process they would have to also submit a detailed plan on remediation which would be reviewed and the permit granted. Another cool thing about the bill is that it allows any equipment or techniques that are required for remediation. This makes it possible for mining companies to potentially go to an abandoned mine and recycle the waste that contributes to acid mine drainage for precious metals leftover by inefficient mining techniques. But you can’t get too excited! The bill was only introduced to Congress. Upon being introduced all bills are then submitted to a committee of senators, this bill has been submitted to the Congressional Committee of Environment and Public Works. If the committee gets around to reviewing the bill they then report it favorably or unfavorably to the Senate or House letting it receive full consideration. However often times some bills never even get considered by the committee they are referred to so they don’t even make it to being considered by the full body: the Senate or the House. Also if the committee has doesn’t have the member of Congress that introduced the bill on it, there is little chance for the stakeholders to give input to the committee when the bill is getting the most important consideration. I was able to find the website for the Senate Committee for Environment and Public Works. The committee is made up of 19 senators, of whom Mark Udall is not one of them. However there are 6 senators from Western states: CA, MT, ID, WY, NM, and OR. All of these states have abandoned mines in them so there is a possibility that these senators have an interest in this new bill. Also Mark Udall’s cousin, Tom Udall (D-NM), is on the committee. He may be the biggest voice for the stakeholders of Good Sam policy. In a 2008 Outside article the Udall family is considered the legacy of Western Conservation dating back to the 1850’s with their great grandfather David King Udall. Here is the link for that article: http://outside.away.com/outside/culture/200803/mark-and-tom-udall-1.html
So hopefully with six Western Senators and one member of the Udall family on the senate committee that is reviewing the Good Sam bill, there will be some positive outcome that gets good Samaritans closer to reclaiming western water. Follow this link to look at the bill: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s111-1777
7 comments:
I agree that this may potential help the predicament with western water, but wouldn't a good Samaritan who want to clean up a mine need some sort of training? Or would this just be for mining companies? What is the incentive for them? What about the dangerous toxic chemicals and acid drainage that have been left behind? Where do they get the equipment for remediation?
Going off of Stephanie's comment, it would be nice to see these companies create a job to where there is a trained person in this area that knows how to clean up these areas, maybe several job positions, and for having these jobs, the company would then get snaps or something, something that would create and incentive for other companies to do the same. I think the good Samaritan will only work if something big is on the line. Right now for some companies it's easier to financially pay for mistakes in penalties then to fix the problem themselves.
I fully agree with you and Sen. Udall that this is a very important issue and should be addressed. Because the bill will be so complicated it will take a long time to get out of committee even if it does pass. The major factor is removing the responsibility from these good samaritans. Many think other wise if they are going to bear the brunt of the responsibility. The best solution are for current mines to be treated with environmental regard and for past mines to be made less hazardous.
I think this is an issue that needs to be addressed but there may be a few issues. Where will the funding come from for all of this? I understand that this will allow for people to clean up but where will they get the things needed for this? Also, along with this bill taking a long time to pass, probably, the process of actually being able to clean up the mine will probably take a long time too- with all the necessary permits. I like the idea of other mining companies recycling - will they get discounts or some other incentive that will make sure they do this?
Katie Witters
I think this is a good step, but mine clean up can be very complicated. It takes several people to deal with different aspects of hydrologic issues. I know the sites in Leadville led to several disputes between the EPA, the people of the town, and other agencies. If unexpected problems arise, does the bill address how to deal with conflicting parties?
This is a great new law because when people take the incentive to help, they should not be punished for the problem they are trying to fix. the idea of having them submit a plan is also useful because it can be asssed by other scientist who may have ideas of how to have the same results with less expensive methods.
Acid mine drainage is a huge problem in the midwest. Drastic measures need to be taken to clean them up. However, each mine that is cleaned up could potentially cost millions of dollars that would be passed on to tax payers. In addition, practices that retrieve mine tailings to find more precious metals in them are harmful as well. Heap leach pads are carved out pools in which mine tailings, water and cyanide are mixed together to leach the metals like gold. This is an extremely harmful process if the solution gets loose from the pool, and is extremely expensive to clean up as well!
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